Continued Donor area pain 11 months post FUE, any advice?

[OneMission06]

I'm sorry to hear about how much your are suffering. At least you have a diagnosis of neurogenic pain. In addition to PRP, another treatment option to research is an occipital nerve block. Hopefully you continue to make improvements with the gabapentin.

[HairJo]

I had surgery for migraines along my journey I have gone through many injections in my head for many years to try and get rid of my head aches . I also experience exactly the same pains you are feeling it's from nerve damage I tried every drug including the gabapentin nothing worked for me I have bags of pills that didn't work . Now I'm on Cymbalta and it has helped me tremendously it's for nerve pain and depression and you know when you're in pain and you don't know the out come you get depressed also so it really works it takes time to find the right dosage for you but talk to your doctor and give it a try. The nerve ending pain in your case I believe will get better in time so don't give up it will probably get less pain as time goes by. I know it's horrible and no one wants to be on meds but the Cymbalta doesn't make you sleepy or feel like a zomby you can function on it and it's helped me a lot .Good Luck

[london81]

12 month hair cut, happy with the result. I think Dr Feriduni and his team are amazing at getting great results. I was there a couple of weeks ago and in the waiting room were two guys who's hair looked amazing and so natural. I will go to him for my future procedures. Just wish I didn't have the pain in the back of the head but happy with my cosmetic result. The transplanted hair is still a bit darker than the rest but hoping it will lighten up over time.

[london81]

Hi Hairjo, thanks so much for your message. I've heard about cymbalta and I really want to give it a try but I've heard it can cause hair loss which is one of the reasons why I'm hesitant to ask my doctor for it? The Gabapentin is working and dulling the pain down but I have to take it every few hours as the effect seems to wear off and the pain comes back. Think I'll get some PRP too in to the donor area as that may help and I think it's worth a try if I can get it at an affordable price but I'm kinda scared of injectings in the head now! :-/

[HairJo]

Please DON'T get a prp that's more injections many injections of blood pumped into your scalp the extra needle pricks plus the pressure of the blood being pushed through your head will make it worse in my opinion . Give yourself some time to let the medication work don't add insult to injury. I have heard patients experience similar pain that you're experiencing from just prp alone you will just aggravate the area. I really think your pain will subside in time but it may take awhile. This is just my opinion. I've even had nerve blocks and I'm in pain after from the injections and the blocks didn't work for me just more injections and more damage.Not everyone is the same I'm just sharing my experience.

[london81]

Maybe you are right Hairjo, How do you find the Cymbalta? Does it take along time to work? Many side effects? I may ask my doctor for that when I see her next month.

[HairJo]

You can go to a pain management or maybe even your family doctor can give you a script I got mine from a pain management doctor. I still get pain but it's not as bad and it doesn't last long . So far I'm on it 3 months and I don't see any side affects . It takes about 2 to 3 weeks they start you off at a low dose and then increase if you still have pain so far I'm happy with it.

[london81]

Hey guys, just thought I'd update this tread as its been a couple of months. Sad to say that the donor area is still causing me trouble. Very very itchy, sore and also like a burning pain and tingling. Feels like it's all bruised still, literally like I've been stabbed repeatedly in the back of the head. It's been 15 months since the FUE procedure. Whilst I'm happy with the cosmetic look I wasnt expecting to be left in constant discomfort and pain.

 

The medication for neuropathic pain i take has helped dull the burning and shooting pains a bit but recently it's just flared up again and I don't want to have to take more medication. I went back to my GP and she said that it's the surgeons responsibility to sort out but I did see him and he said it was probably dermatitis and not related to the procedure. The trouble is I never ever had pain in my donor area until after the FUE. I've tried everything and nothing works to stop it.

 

I'm going to go back to my GP to see if she will refer me to a dermatologist for further investigation. If she won't then I will have to pay to go private. It's really starting to grind me down as its with me all the time and worse at night. I just hope it won't affect future HT work cause I will need another one in the future. I also don't want to have to live the rest of my life in pain. Hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it but somethings causing this after the FUE.

 

I'll keep this thread updated as to my progress and any potential findings. It may help any guys who get this In the future to document it.

[1978matt]

I've had an ear infection this last week. Terrible jaw pain that was so bad I went to A&E (nerves in ear/jaw are connected.)

 

Anyway, for the pain they prescribed me Naproxen 500mg twice a day. Works amazingly well.

 

Unfortunately I'm not sure it is something you can use long term but it may be worth asking a Doctor.

 

I've had bouts of SD on my face in the past and used Skinoren 15% Gel (Azelaic Acid). Awesome results. Removes about 95% of any redness/itching.

 

Hopefully your problems will just resolve in time. Although I had FUT I still feel as though it took a full 24 months to really heal.

[esrec]

I would suggest finding (not easy) a reputable Otolaryngologist.

 

Long / Short: I suffered a nerve related issue to my throat years ago. It was persistent and immensely painful, and absent of clear diagnosis after seeing more than 5 doctors. I saw ENT's and neurologists with zero success.

 

It wasnt until I found out that speciality physicians, such as Otolarayngologists, who focus mostly on nerve related issues to the ears-nose-throat (but also focus on head and neck related pain) rouintely see these cases, that I was able to land the correct medication and therapy. It was 3 years of research, lots of trial/error with different meds, but worth it in the end.

 

I can make recommendations if you're in NY, or contact my doctor for recommendations elsewhere. This might be a good route to take next. Feel free to PM me.

[london81]

Many thanks Matt and Esrec, I will look into all those suggestions Hope I get this sorted. As I'm sat here the centre of my donor area right in the middle of the head is burning like its on fire, I never had this before the FUE ever. It only started after, must be related. Dunno what's gone wrong and neither does anyone else.

[HairJo]

I have the same pain you describe and it's horrible . I had surgery on my head and neck and suffer the same itching ,burning tingling . I have tried a million different meds and found Cybalta to be helpful for nerve pain . Naprosin also worked well too. I still have the problem it has been almost 2 years since my surgery and the tingling and itchy feeling got better with the Cymbalta but I still have times when nothing works . If you find an answer to this please share I'm in the same boat

[esrec]

Hey guys, this may or may not help, but these were the meds I was prescribed for the persistent skin irritation I suffered from. Do you research and speak to your doc, but this was a 8 month bout and trial/error with different med and dermatologists. The nerve pain I resolved was separate but PM me if interested.

 

 

LIDEX (Fluocinonide) .05% cream, application to affected area

 

CICLOPIROX OLAMINE 0.77% cream, 1 application to affected area externally 2x daily

 

DESOXIMETASONE

[HairJo]

Thanks I don't think anything topical will help what I have but thanks for your feed back

[esrec]

It may not, but hear me out:

 

I had an itchy, irritated, persistently swollen and growing irritation on my neck for months. Gross, sorry. I trialed several meds and eventually had a small biopsy.

 

Dermatologist told me we needed to trial medications that addressed the exterior of the skin but also entered the bloodstream (paraphrasing here) because some skin infections cannot be solved on the outside alone.

 

As it turned out, I used a bad blade to shave and the infection was internal as well as visibly external. First two med worked temporarily, 3rd did the trick post biopsy.

 

Either way best of luck but worth a look.

[HairJo]

Thanks for the info worth a try

[gillenator]

You may want to get several opinions from neurologists as it definitely sounds like damage to nerves.

[HairJo]

I agree 100%

[fuebound]

london81 – I know this is a pretty old thread, but I'm wondering if the pain you experienced has receded at all since your last post. I'm considering an FUE procedure of a similar size, so it'd be great to get an update. Thanks so much for sharing!!

Edited November 1, 2016 by fuebound

[HairJo]

I would also like to know if you have any improvement I hope so . I know what scalp pain is and it's no joke. I hope you're doing better.